Win Free Stuff with Punchtab Giveaways!

Have you checked out the Punchtab Giveaways app for iPhone yet? Once I connected it with my Twitter and Facebook accounts, it was incredibly easy to enter tons of sweepstakes with just a few taps on the screen.

With my new-found gadget, I entered some sweepstakes while I was hanging out in bed and recuperating from surgery. I love that I can see how many days are left in the sweepstakes and how many entries have been submitted, so I generally avoid those that give me a minimal chance to win something I'm not necessarily in love with.

Did I mention it's a free download? How much better can it get?

Sodial Daily Deals

Many Amazon users are familiar with the brand Sodial, which offers a lot of items for very affordable prices. Here's my roundup for today:


This Mickey Mouse Face Shape Cookie Cutter is just 93 cents including shipping! It is relatively small, but can you really beat that price?


These Wooden Fridge Magnets include all the letters of the alphabet. Look closely and you'll see they all have eyes on them! For $2.97, no child should be without a set of alphabet magnets!

This Solar Powered Toy Car is too awesome! Available for $3.25 plus $0.99 shipping, imagine what fun can be had with this little doo-dad! A great toy to have in your gift closet for unexpected children's birthday parties, not to mention for homeschoolers, preschool teachers, grandparents....

I'm all over this Laser Pointer Light for $3.35 after shipping. My cats are gonna freak!

Finding Latex-Free Earbuds

Since my old earbuds make my ears itch (big shocker that most are made with latex), I'm in the market for a new pair. I found a few possibilities on Amazon:

The JBL Tempo High-Performance In-Ear Headphones are currently on sale for $19.95 plus $4.99 shipping, down from $34.99!

The other option is $9.99 plus $6.95 shipping and is also supposed to be latex free. There's only one review, and it's not a good one. But, Amazon has great customer service so I'm sure I could just return them if they didn't work out. So, once I get some spare cash I'll probably go for these Digital Earbuds in White.

In the meantime, do you have any recommendations?

Latex-Free Makeup Sponges at a Good Price!

I've been blubbering about the Internet exploring latex-free products on and off today, and just came across these makeup sponges. I don't wear makeup, so they don't apply to me, but these look fun!

The FantaSea Latex-free Make-up Sponge Assortment comes in a pack of 32 in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes as you can see in the picture. They are currently priced at $3.22 plus $3.97 shipping, which is really quite a good deal when you consider that they are latex-free!

Lego Green Building Plate for $4.99!

Yippee! Have you already checked out my post on making your own lego table? This LEGO Green Building Plate (10" x 10")  is just what you need for it, and it's on sale for just $4.99! The price has been up and down and all around for the last 24 hours, so be sure to check the price before checking out.

It ships FREE with Super Saver Shipping- order $25 worth of eligible items (there are SO many to choose from) and it ships free!

Make Me Or Buy Me Monday: Lime Juice

Recently I ordered a big order from Schwan's and had to clear out my freezer, which I hadn't done for much too long! In the back I pulled out a plastic bag full of limes, which I'd picked up last summer for free at a thrift store near my mom's house.

This left me with a whole bunch of limes that I can no longer keep in the freezer. I found just one recipe to use it up, Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Porridge. (I'll post the recipe later this week as it tastes amazing and is super easy.)

Naturally I got to thinking about comparing the prices of making your own lime juice versus buying it.

Lime Juice: Make Me?

Obviously the cost of the limes in this case was free, but this was pure luck. I found that the best way to maximize the juice is to roll the lime before cutting it in half and squeezing the juice out. I don't have one of those handy little juice-getters (what are those things called?), and don't really feel the need to buy one unless it's super cheap. It really took a lot of limes to get much lime juice, but it was easy to do and required no investment.

Once I run out of lime juice, I'll definitely have my husband keep an eye out for cheap limes, but since you don't get much lime juice from one lime, I'll probably go back to buying lime juice.

Lime Juice: Buy Me?


Checking out my good standby Amazon, I found the Santa Cruz 100 % Organic Lime Juice at $4.59 for 16 ounces. It ships free with a $49 order from Vitacost, otherwise shipping is $4.99. I'm cheap, so I'm not a big fan of that deal.

The best deals, not surprisingly, are the bulk deals on organic lime juice. The Lakewood Organic PURE Lime Juice 12.5-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 12) will get you 12 bottles of 12.5 ounces each for $57.73. Shipping is free with your Prime membership, or with Super Saver Shipping!

Lime Juice: The Take Home

Personally, I've not noticed a huge difference between fresh and bottled lime juice, and it's just fine and dandy after being frozen for almost a year. It's easy to make if you have limes around, but since I'm unable to go to grocery stores, I'll likely order mine from Amazon once I run out. So, which is it for you? Make me or buy me?

Another Day, Another Reaction

Remember that blog plan I posted the other day? Perhaps I should instead call it a "this is what I want to do but probably won't be able to" plan.

I've been feeling pretty stinky lately, both literally and figuratively. A few days ago was one the most unique and funky reactions I've had.

My husband was awesome and picked up some produce at the local Save-A-Lot for me. I couldn't believe it was so good for this time of the year. It wasn't organic, but I figured since it was labeled as coming from a greenhouse it couldn't be that bad. Plus, I was craving fresh food like nothing else.

Noshing on some brightly colored bell peppers, I felt like the happiest girl in the world! But then my tongue started tingling slightly. I immediately got a bunch of Benadryl down me, which is my default action whenever I start to have any symptoms of a reaction as well. Since it takes time to get going, this is how I've been able to avoid using my epi-pens and having to call the ambulance to get me to the hospital before the epi-pen wears off.

Anyways, I went back to the peppers and noticed they were starting to taste a little weird. Chemically. Realizing that was the problem, I set them aside and tried to make a comment to one of my nearby cats. My tongue was numb! Not feeling weird or tingly, but actually numb. As in, I can't feel it there anymore.

I tried to explain what happened to my hubby after about 15 minutes, knowing that I was "out of the woods." Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "I canth feel ma tongth but ahm ak."

Hubby: *chuckles* "Huh?"

Me: "Splthe gween peppasth-"

Hubby: *uncontrollable laughter*

Me: "Shpthe-"

Hubby: *turns around* "Hold on let me get control of myself I can't stop laughing!"

We went back and forth for a little while, until we were both to the point of being unable to even look at one another without busting out laughing. I eventually wrote down what I was trying to say, that the green peppers aren't organic and they made my tongue numb. And this is what it sounded like:

"Splthe gween peppasth awen't argwanic and splthay made ma tongue numbbbb."

If we didn't have a sense of humor about all the crazy stuff caused by this latex allergy, I don't know how we'd get through. Just another day in paradise, where we bring another meaning to speaking in tongues!